How to not die when dealing with electronic components

[Jdansti]

I've been following this thread and then zowy! I got a small hit of juice tonight. My wife's lighted fluorescent makeup mirror had stopped working and I was troubleshooting it. It would light up only when the switch was held down, but not when it was released (probably a bad latching switch). It runs on a 6V 1500mA unregulated power supply. I was checking the incoming voltage with a meter while I held the switch down, and didn't realize one of my fingers was touching the board's output to the fluorescent bulb. This was before I unscrewed the board and realized there was a transformer, capacitor, and a coil underneath. The zing of the shock wasn't painful, but after it happened, I could smell burnt skin and there was a small black speck where I had touched the connection on the board. It left a tiny depression but fortunately no pain. It was a good reminder of the need to be careful with circuits that boost low voltages.

[bluebunny]

Watch out for the bus, John.

Especially if it's being driven by a tiger.